Big scramble seen in open Senate seat in Georgia

(AP) -- A rare open Senate seat in Georgia promises a scrambled 2014 campaign that already has some Republicans quietly nervous.

It's a state that Democrat Barack Obama lost in both his presidential races. And it's a Senate seat that Republicans can't afford to surrender as they try to reclaim a Senate majority for the final two years of Obama's presidency.

The question is whether an expected bruising primary becomes a liability for the GOP.

GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss is retiring. The only Republicans to say so far that they're running are two congressmen - Paul Brown and Phil Gingrey, both physicians and both conservatives.

But the Republican primary field eventually could include as many as a half-dozen candidates with a credible shot at a spot in a runoff.